


Wake Me Up

by poetsandzombies



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Funeral, Sad with a Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-08
Updated: 2014-04-08
Packaged: 2018-01-18 16:51:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1435747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poetsandzombies/pseuds/poetsandzombies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony has a nightmare about Steve's funeral</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wake Me Up

It was the quietest morning there'd been in months, save the dull croak of the piano and the moaning of the floorboards beneath the pianists tapping foot.

Tony stood behind the rows of white chairs, stiff and unmoving, hands clasped tightly behind his back. Across the quickly filling room, Bucky noticed him and attempted a smile, but immediately his lips began to quiver and he turned down to look at his feet before Tony could try to return the gesture. 

Bucky,the only one in this room who fully understood Tony's presence here, the only man who knew what had been going on behind closed doors. Because Steve had insisted he know, had told Tony that if he couldn't trust Bucky, then what were they even doing?

Tony watched Sam slide in next to Bucky, place a hand on the man's shoulder and sit him down, and then Tony was alone again. Something he hadn't felt in years.

The more people filed into the room, the more sullen the mood became. Natasha sat on the other side of Bucky, and Clint next to her, and Tony's throat tightened in anguish as even Nick Fury, accompanied by Phil and Maria, made their way down the rows of chairs. It didn't matter if nobody had the time for a full blown ceremony: they  _made_  time. 

Sam had pulled him aside a few days ago to assure him that he'd be welcomed with open arms, but Tony had his doubts, and therefore kept his distance. He was somewhere deep in his own head anyway. He didn't even notice Pepper next to him, brows furrowed as she tapped furiously at her phone, or Rhodey, dressed up in his navy blue suit, hands also clasped behind his back, but in respect rather than anxiety. Tony knew he should have been one of the men carrying in the... but of course he chose to stand next to Tony, and in some lost part of his conscious mind, Tony appreciated that. 

But when the music slowed and died and what was left of the hushed conversations among the room was cut off, Tony was sure his heart stopped. He was able to keep himself composed, lips pursed and face blank, all of his muscles tensed to keep from shaking. However, when the first two soldiers stepped into the room, shoulders straight and hats in their hands, and Tony  _knew_  what would be following them, he fucking lost it. His breathing shortened, his head swayed dizzily, and before he knew it, he was busting through the side door into the empty hallways, straight towards the wall to keep him right side up. He pressed his forehead against the cool, brick walls, gasping for air. Luckily he was in the back, so he hardly disturbed anyone. 

But of course, one man had noticed. One man had dashed out after him, was now placing a hand on Tony's shoulder, gentle, but firm.

"Breathe." 

Both hands were on him when he wouldn't calm down, and he knew that they learned this in the military, he understood, but with the steadiness of his voice, with the serum, Bucky sounded and felt too much like Steve, all those restless, summer nights when Tony was kept up and he had been there for him, and it made everything worse. He couldn't get air into his lungs, his eyes spun in and out of focus, and he trembled violently beneath the other man's grasp. And who the hell was Tony to Steve, to be comforted by the dead man's _best friend_. It was absolutely unfair to Bucky, and Tony felt sick with guilt and selfishness. He turned around, gently pushing Bucky away from him.

"I'm sorry," He wheezed, and Bucky was shaking his head like Tony had no reason to apologize, but he absolutely did. 

Within the next few seconds, Rhodey was in the halls, pushing Bucky to the side to get to Tony.

"Thank you, Buck, but I can handle this." He said.

"I don't think you understand-" Bucky protested.

"The hell, I don't understand." Rhodey snapped. "I know Tony better than he knows himself. I'm not stupid, and I'm not blind." He looked up to Bucky then, and his face softened apologetically. 

"Please, you are the last person who should have to do this. Go pay your respects to Steve. I'll take care of him." He said. Bucky nodded silently and turned to leave. 

By then, Tony was catching his breath, letting a warmth flood through him and calm his nerves, though his hands still shook hard. 

"You knew?" He asked quietly, and Rhodey, despite everything else, managed a smile. 

"You thought you could keep a secret like that from me? I mean, honestly, Tony." 

Tony huffed, just then realizing how foolish it was to actually believe that he had kept the relationship between he and Steve from Rhodey. 

"He's gone," he breathed suddenly, clasping a hand over his mouth in awe at what had just escaped, a electric shock shooting through him as the words rang true, and then Rhodey was pulling him into a hug, burying Tony's face into his shoulder. Tony clenched his teeth, refusing to cry, but breathed heavily through his nose, gasps shuddering through his body as he held it all in, and Rhodey became the only thing holding Tony in one piece. 

Steve was gone okay, and did Tony ever fully appreciate when he was around? Did he take the time to let him know that? Looking back, he knew it had always been a frantic, desperate rush of fumbling fingers and clothes strewn across the floor. Tony always thought they'd have time to take their time. 

Did he even ever tell Steve that he loved him? That he was doubtlessly, unconditionally in love with him?

Did he even know at the time? 

Tony shut his eyes tight, held on to Rhodey tighter in horror as his knees buckles. He could feel his heart wasn't going to hold together, could feel the world around him crumbling, and when he managed to open his eyes...

 

There was darkness. Tony blinked once, twice, realized he was on his back. His hair, shirt, and the mattress beneath him were all soaked in sweat. Tony shot up, the force causing an immediate headache, and searched the room as his eyes adjusted to the dark. His heart was pounding hard in his chest, fear in his throat as he chanced a glace at the weight he felt against his hip. He sucked in a breath.

"Steve?" He croaked. There was a small, groggy yawn and then two large, muscled arms that peaked through the covers, revealing a half asleep, but definite Steve Rogers as he stretched, shifted to turn around, and put an arm around Tony's waste, pulling him back down and against his own body heat. Tony's sigh of relief came out as a choked sob, and he pressed his nose into Steve's chest in an attempt to muffle his sudden sounds. However, that startled Steve completely out of sleep.

"Tony? He tried to sit up, pulling Tony away from him and brushing his damp hair out of his face. "Tony, are you okay?" He was pouting at him as Tony quickly regained control of his emotions. 

"No, I'm not okay. I love you." 

Steve stared at him, confused in his half dream state, cheeks flushed with the heat of the summer night, hair sticking up in a way that warmed Tony's heart. 

And then he was kissing him, the slowest kiss they'd ever had, and Steve kissed his cheek, his jaw, his neck, his shoulder. Tony felt dizzy as Steve took his hand and pressed his lips gently to his wrist, the palm of his hand.

"I love you too." 

And hearing that was enough to forget the nightmare, if only for the night.


End file.
